...to celebrate Halloween

...what a day it was!

Full of friends...

Audrey and her buddy the Wicked Witch of the West (a.k.a. Ms. Amy)
Trend?  Perhaps Audrey should have been a witch as well.  Sigh.
At least she loved handing out candy!

Abbey & her buddy Luke

Photo moments....

Fish.  Professor McGonogall.  Good Witch.

Hermione

Devin Funchess

Good witch

Note:  #4 Refused all solo photo opportunities.  As evidenced by the photos that she does appear in...Dressin' up ain't her thang.

My Crew.  Maybe #4 didn't like being a fish?

And lots of fun.

As you can see the weather even was cooperative!  No rain and a balmy 46ish degrees!

I think because Abbey was praying in her parade this morning...

...to watch the kids

...enjoy my newest project

A few weeks ago before the kids were sick I was walking Timber in the woods on a trail behind our house.

I found this treasure!

I think it is/was the swinging part to an old gate.

I walked past it a few times before I finally dragged it home.

"This is going to be great!"
"Huh?" stated the peanut gallery.

I am certain Mark would have joined the naysayers.

But with a lot of help from these tools...

Several of these...

It became this...

(it is hung on the large wall on the landing between the first and second floor)

And then this...

I have enjoyed watching my children stop and remember a memory each time they go up & down the stairs.

...to break for a few days

...it has been so nice having my better half home.

We spent the lone beautiful day of the weekend winterizing the yard for winter.  Mark and I took down the trampoline, put away all the toys, and Mark gave the yard one last mow for the season.

The kids have been ready to work on their pumpkins since we picked them out on our trip to Virginia several weeks ago.

Carving...really isn't my thing.

I left that job to Mark and Isabella:

Poking pieces into pumpkins to decorate them?  Now this is a task I enjoy...and I supervised it well. 

Pretty cute huh?

As the weather has turned cold and gray here in the great white north, we chose to spend plenty of quality family time hunkered down near the fire this weekend.

Now...We are all healthy and rested for the week ahead!

...to show the things my children

...pretend (because they are in a military family).

A month isn't a long time in the grand scheme of...well anything.

But for the Crow family it was:

• a trip to Virginia
• several soccer games
• a couple of piano lessons
• some really cold soccer practices
• several Sunday mornings drinking coffee alone
• a trip to the hospital with a sick little girl
• more rounds of Tylenol and Motrin than I can even begin to count
• and a clean bill of health for this household as of 20:00 this evening!

Seemed like a long time to us.

Anyway, today we had to bring Mark's truck back to his office so he can come home from work tomorrow afternoon.

Here is a snippet of my children enacting tomorrow's anticipation...

The only prop...

Mark's cover.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

I think they are too.

...really wanted

...the fog over my home to lift.

I pretended it did.

I had a shower.  Put on clothing that I had to both button and zip (i.e., good bye-yoga pants and hooded sweatshirt) and I even used the roller brush on my hair this morning.

Had I added a little lip gloss and mascara, Abbey might have thought I was headed 'out for coffee'.

I wasn't.

My schedule for the day still mostly included:

• several administrations of Tylenol and Motrin at four-hour intervals
• reading a few extra chapters of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
• and...I hate to admit it, but I have even learned to play Super Mario Brothers on the Wii.

Oh...the things a parent will do to make their children at least feel better.

And they ARE feeling better.

We are finally on the road to recovery...

#4 returned to daycare for a few hours this morning.
#3 returned to school today.
#2 will return to school tomorrow.
#1 is improving.  Hopefully, she'll return to school on Wednesday.

Maybe this all means I'll get some uninterrupted sleep tonight?

No matter.  Sleep is overrated.

Here is some more proof they are recovering...

Will running around with Katie and John for a bit during Abbey's soccer game...

Abbey at her last soccer game this evening...

so happy to be running around!

She even kicked a goal!

Taken after this said Kodak moment...very proud of herself!

(which of course I missed physically seeing because at this particular moment in time I was trying to bribe, threaten and cajole Audrey to stop crying (for heaven's sake..&%&)...apparently she wanted to go home...)!

Abbey and her coach

Though we aren't quite back to our normal crazy...I am thankful the chaos is beginning to return.

...to write a note

...about my thoughts:

Dear Brutal Virus,

You win.

You have stuck three out of four of my children so far this week.

Plaguing them with this horrible virus of terrible stomach cramps and super, super high fevers for an unprecedented five days each.

I have endured night after night of sleeplessness.  Time I have spent crying over my babies...so scared for them while I held them and rubbed their tummies, their backs, anything to try to give them some comfort.

Can I ask...

Is there a particular reason why you must show your nastiest symptoms in the middle of the night?  Is there something you have against daylight?  You know, the time when I have my wits about me and I am less likely to imagine worst case scenarios.

Two a.m. is when my judgement is most impaired.  How do I know I am making the right choice to not rush my baby to the hospital when she is having trouble breathing, sleeping, and even lying still because her fever is so high, beyond 104, she cannot get comfortable?

I am so much more cognizant at 6 a.m.

Can you strike at  6 a.m. next time please?

My next beef...

It is not fair to change the rules of this illness that you have plagued my family with.  You cannot just add the symptom of vomiting on day seven of this virus!

And in the mini-van.  Did it have to occur on...the only, very small patch of visible carpet, in my recently detailed swagger wagon?

Really?

As I write this, the last of my kiddos (#1) is beginning to develop a fever.

If this fever persists in her, I think I'll take the four of my cherubs and drop them off at a local safe house.  Perhaps four different ones...

And officially admit defeat.

Cause this momma is done.

I give up.

OR...

I have another idea...can you please strike me next?

I would trade places with each of them in a moment.

I will take their pain.  Their aches.  Their fevers.

I don't want them to hurt anymore.

Virus...go away.

Or take me as your next victim.

Please.

Sincerely,

One tired momma.

...to drink a lot of coffee

...and watch a lot of TV.

#2 joined the stay-at-home-party today.

Poor little man.

I spent most of my day doing:

In no particular order...

Drinking cup after cup of coffee

Holding kiddos

Rubbing backs

Sitting on the couch

Watching television show after television show

Handing out Gatorade 

Insisting on my children eating popsicle after popsicle

If it wasn't for the photos as evidence, the activities I noted sound as if it was the first day of vacation.

I can assure you...it is not.